Arkona wind park off Germany gets 1st turbine

July 5 (Renewables Now) - The first turbine has been installed at the 385-MW Arkona offshore wind farm in the German Baltic Sea, German utility E.on SE (ETR:EOAN) said today.

The EUR-1.2-billion (USD 1.4bn) project is a joint venture between E.on and Norwegian oil group Equinor (OSE:EQNR).

Turbine installation started ahead of schedule, said Arkona project director Holger Matthiesen. "We are confident that we will soon be producing clean and sustainable electricity with the first turbines," Matthiesen added.

The 60-turbine wind farm is due to be fully commissioned in the beginning of 2019 at the latest.

According to the announcement, the substation is being commissioned and the connection to the shore is being completed. The turbine components are being stored and prepared in the Arkona base port of Mukran in Sassnitz, before being loaded onto installation vessel Sea Challenger and installed on the monopile foundations that are already in place.